How Long Had It Been?
by LadyPiratte
Summary: Sabe's life is devastated by the loss of a friend more dear than any family. Her courage to go on and continue the work of a friend whose life ended so early leads her to a place more dangerous than she could ever imagine.
1. Default Chapter

**How Long Had It Been?**

**Part One  
Chapter One**

**Theed, Naboo**

How long had it been? Two, maybe three years since she last saw her, it had to be that at least with the Clone Wars roaring to life. She wished she had seen her friend more, but their lives were so filled with business, it was impossible to do anything but talk to each other in short conversations once or twice a week.

The last time they had been face to face, they had been children and Amidala had been Queen. She could never have suspected the whirl-wind ride they had been launched into which drove them to all parts of the Galaxy including Coruscant and Tatooine, of all places that sandy desert. But that was years ago; they had both grown up.

She was now an Executive Councilor to the new Queen of Naboo. She hadn't been sure she wanted back in the arena after Amidala left office and here she was and with a position that kept her in close contact with the new Queen. The new queen was young, younger than Amidala had been, and she needed a little guidance. She was there to help in that department as best as she could. She was proud of her job just as she had been when Amidala was queen.

She was on her way to the Queen's personal chambers as she looked back on those times, when the Republic seemed somewhat stable and democracy was a sure thing to keep on existing. Despite all the drama, they were fond memories all the same, ones that she carried with her everyday. She just wished she had heard from Amidala more. Her last communication had been short and nearly two weeks back.

She nodded to the palace security guards outside the door with a slow smile. The doors slid open and she stepped inside and bowed her head to the well adorned, young queen who sat at her desk solemnly. It reminded her of a young Amidala and it brought a sweet smile to her lips.

The queen smiled almost sadly and stood, beads jingling from her headpiece as she walked forward, and around the desk. "Executive Councilor Sabé, I have pressing news. Senator Amidala has been injured."

Sabé stood frozen. Injured could mean a number of different things. It could simply be an injury such as a broken bone, painful but not life threatening. Or it could be something that left her comatose or worse, on the verge of death. Had this been the reason for the lack of communication? A thousand thoughts raced through her mind.

The young queen rested a pale hand on her arm and with the other, held out a datapad with a display of a planet and coordinates. "If you'd like to visit her, I give you leave to. I know how close you had been."

Sabé looked down at the datapad and took it slowly in numb hands. "Thank you."

"Please give her my prayers. She has been an inspiration for all of Naboo." The young queen looked up at her through thick lashes.

"I will your highness. I am sure she will be grateful for them." Sabé replied, though she still couldn't quite understand what had just occurred. She wished she knew more. She nodded her head in a solemn bow and left the queen's quarters still staring at the datapad.

**Medical Bay, Outer System**

Several guards met her at the transport when she arrived at the medical facility that Amidala had been taken to for treatment. She looked at them nervously and a little awkwardly. They walked in a circle around her, escorting her quickly through the security checks and down the metallic halls that screamed "sterile" and "cold" at her face.

Then they left her at a glass door, framed in silver. The captain scanned in his card and the door slid open. He gestured for her to enter and Sabé took a deep breath before stepping into the room.

It was an open room, clean of any sitting furniture. Large panels of glass formed a wall that revealed a medical chamber. Two large droids hovered around a white bed before moving aside to reveal Amidala, prone and still, clad in white. Sabé walked towards the wall-of-glass and took in a shaky breath. She wished she had been told how bad it really had been, though she didn't know if it would have made a difference.

A figure came up behind her, taller than she, but familiar. He laid a rough hand on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. Sabé turned her head slightly to glance back at the Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. She smiled a feeble smile before looking back at her friend.

"I wish I had known she was in such bad shape." She muttered.

"Would it have made a difference?" He asked kindly, echoing her thoughts. "There is no reason to suspect that she will not make it. The medical droids expect the best."

Sabé nodded but couldn't stop the fear and doubt building in her chest. Amidala was always so strong, nothing kept her down. She couldn't believe that she was seeing her best friend lying so still and motionless.

"How did it happen?" She asked. She didn't really want to know, but people always asked.

Obi-Wan turned away, clearly pained and paced across the room, his boots clicking on the hard floor. The sound was deafening.

"You don't have to tell me, honestly." Sabé turned to face him. She watched him silently, much older than the last time she'd seen him in the Parade after the Trade Federation incident. She looked down at her folded hands. "The last I heard, she was pregnant."

He turned to look at her quickly and with a bewildered look. "How..."

"Amidala and I have been best friends most of our lives. She doesn't keep much from me. Don't worry; I've said nothing to anyone about it." Sabé reassured him, but he didn't seem comforted. "Did Anakin do this?"

Obi-Wan turned away from her and crossed her arms over his chest. Sabé nodded in understanding and felt tears brim her eyes. "He loved her," he muttered.

"_Loved_? Obviously, he doesn't anymore," Sabé whispered. She was angry at Anakin for hurting her friend so dearly, but she was still too concerned over Amidala to much care about him. The anger would have to wait for another time.

"Don't say that! I know he does, deep down he is still good. If he knew what he has done, he would regret it." Obi-Wan whirled around to face her.

"Would he? I'm sorry Master Kenobi, but no one who loves someone as much as you say he does would ever do this. I want to believe you; I do, but look at her! Look what he has done!" Sabé waved a hand at the image before them. "She was pregnant! The baby..."

"Babies, there were two of them; twins. They're fine." Obi-Wan looked at her. "He's not lost."

"Master Kenobi, you know better. Except the facts, I'm begging you, for your own good." Sabé stared hard at him, anger building. "Senator Amidala is fighting for her life because of him! The Republic may be fighting for _its_ life because of him!"

Obi-Wan was silent. He stood there staring at her, making her feel very uncomfortable. Then he drew a slow breath. "If you'll excuse me, Executive Councilor?" He didn't wait for a response, he just left.

Sabé stared after him until he left. She hadn't meant to become angry at him. Master Kenobi wasn't who her anger was directed toward. She was just angry at the whole situation. She hated to see her friend so helpless and she hated being helpless to help Amidala.

She turned back to the paneled window. "Get better quickly, Amidala. You're still very much needed."

**Theed, Naboo**

Months later, Sabé returned to Naboo, but not alone. She wished to everything that she had been alone in her return. It would have been so much the better if she had been alone, but the facts were that she wasn't.

She stood at the end of the ramp in the Palace docking bay as the armed guard escorted her friend from the ship. It was a beautiful casket, truly beautiful. It was ivory and lined with beautiful silver wisps. Laying over it was the national flag of Naboo. Sabé never saw a more devastating sight before in her life.

The Queen walked before her as the procession moved from the docking bay and to the royal cemetery just outside the palace walls, moving solemnly through the palace halls to arrive there. Sabé couldn't believe that Amidala was gone. She couldn't believe that the woman who had made such a profound difference in this galaxy could pass so easily. Somehow, she'd always thought that Amidala would remain forever; a childhood dream.

She stopped as they passed the throne room that held such memories. Sabé thought that if she stared at it long enough, she could see Amidala with her face painted talking with her handmaidens around the conference table, smiling. That was the Amidala Sabé had always kept in her heart.

She glanced at Senator Bail Organa and his wife who carried the young baby girl that Amidala had given birth too. She was lovely, a spitting image of Amidala's bright vision. Leia; she was perfect. Sabé let them pass; let everyone pass around her until she was alone.

She walked around the conference table, running her hands along its carvings. She absently pushed in a stray chair, lingering at its back for a moment. Then she walked over to the chair the Queen always occupied. Sabé lowered herself into that chair and looked out. Nothing would ever be the same.

"Hello, Sabé." The voice was foreign as it came from the shadows, but Sabé knew the speaker none-the-less. She would have been a fool if she had not known it. Her eyes spilled over with tears. "You were right."

Sabé turned to face the hidden, cloaked figure. "Master Kenobi."

Obi-Wan didn't move and stayed hidden in the shadows, but she could see his blue eyes staring out in the halls, watching the remains of the procession disappear away from them. "You were right." He laid a hand on the arm of the chair.

Sabé still stared at him and gently raised her hand atop his and gave it a squeeze. "I wish I hadn't been."

"So do I."


	2. Chapter 2

**Part One  
Chapter Two**

**Theed, Naboo**

They remained that way for a long while, just watching the remains of the funeral procession walk by, not seeing the former handmaiden and the exiled Jedi Master in the throne room. They were silent in their own respective grief, though Sabe wasn't certain that Jedi felt grief, or allowed themselves grief.

"Sabe, I…" Obi-wan started, but Sabe stood up, cutting him off. She motioned to him with a small, discrete wave of her hand to follow her, then walked over to one wall and pushed aside the heavy curtain. There, she depressed several numbers on the key pads and a door slid open.

Sabe led the other into the secret room that not even Jamilla had known about. It was Padme's secret council room. There was a long table with twelve chairs about it and at the head was the tallest chair, Amidala's chair. It was the place where the handmaidens and the queen came to be briefed, but more often, to simply be young girls and talk. This was their private room where they could escape from the world.

Sabe walked around to the head chair and stopped, standing behind it. "This was Padme's favorite room. This is the only place that is safe to speak, about anything."

The hooded figure nodded. He clasped his hands together, hidden by the sleeves of the dark brown robe. "Sabe, I wanted to apologize for my behavior and to express my… sorrow for your loss."

"She was our loss, Master Kenobi." Sabe managed a feeble smile. "Where does this leave democracy? Where does this leave the republic?"

"Democracy is no more. The Republic is replaced with the Empire." Obi-wan remarked sadly.

Sabe closed her eyes slowly and nodded. She had feared as much, but she had never wanted to voice her fears aloud. Somehow, it felt better or at least not as bad when Obi-wan said the words. When she opened her eyes, she moved from behind the queen's chair and walked back toward Obi-wan to form a complete circle.

Padme's life had been devoted to democracy and preserved democracy. She'd risked her life more times, than Sabe could count for democracy. It was cruel that her life had ended not for democracy, but for the downfall of the man she loved more than democracy. It didn't seem right and Sabe would not let all the Padme had done disappear in an eye blink.

When she met Obi-wan's hooded eyes, Sabe's were filled with determination. "I won't let Naboo become apart of that. I will preserve Naboo as long as I can."

Obi-wan nodded in agreement. "You're as strong as she was."

"No, I'm not, but I won't let her legacy die." Sabe looked back over the small conference room lovingly.

"I agree." Obi came to stand beside her. "Would it be too much to ask to ask that Naboo help the remaining Jedi?"

Sabe looked at Obi-wan, surprised he would even ask. "If we could help those brave men and women, we'd be honored, Master Kenobi."

Obi-wan moved from her side silently. "Thank you." He stopped and looked back over his shoulder at her. "I am going to Tatooine if you are ever in need of help, I suggest you go there, young councilor."

Sabe watched as he left with a grateful nod. She remained in the room a bit longer before she left and replaced the curtain infront of the hidden door. Standing before it, Sabe couldn't help but falter in her determination. What if she failed? What if she wasn't strong enough to keep Padme's dream alive?

Sabe shook her head, trying to shake away those thoughts. Then she turned on her heel sharply and went to join the funeral train, as was expected. It was her turn to say good bye to her dearest friend. Oh, how hard it would be.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Two  
Chapter Three**

**Theed, Naboo**

Sabe sat at her desk in her office, hunched over her work, which for the life of her, she could not concentrate on. Queen Apaliana needed her to be an informed councilor and Sabe was having a difficult time focusing on the information in front of her. It was frustrating in more ways than she could reasonably say. She had never had this trouble before.

Padme's death had hit her hard, harder than most. For so long, Padme and Sabe had been two halves of a well-oiled team. Now, part of that team hadn't just moved on, but part of that team would never be coming back. Sabe had relied on Padme's advice for nearly everything. Sabe didn't know if she could trust herself anymore. If Padme could die, then how soon would her own death come? Padme had been invincible to the young woman.

Padme's death had only been the beginning. An empire that Sabe greatly opposed had been born from the tragedy. The sweet boy, Anakin, had turned into the horrible monster everyone knew as Darth Vader. Sabe hated Darth Vader for everything that… that thing had done. He had taken Padme to her early grave, killed the Jedi who protected them, and fueled the horrible reign of terror.

"Executive Councilor?" A young woman, one of the Queen's handmaidens stood in her doorway.

Sabe forced a smile at the hooded woman. She reminded Sabe of her days as a handmaiden, the Decoy Queen in Padme's ruling. Those were the precious years of her life. "Hello, Kiana. How are you today?"

Kiana gave a small smile, hardly visible under her red hood. "Very well. Queen Apailana requests a certain favor. She said to tell you that you should use the east dock now."

Sabe was on her feet in an instant. The east dock was only used in extreme emergencies. Sabe had set it up as a precaution to help the young Queen escape once the Empire's patience wore thin with the independent planet. She never dreamed it would ever have to be used.

"Is the Queen there?" She hurriedly gathered a few things in her hands. When the handmaiden didn't answer right away, she stopped and looked up. Something was wrong in the young girl's eyes. "What is it?"

"The 501st, they've…" Kiana's cool exterior seemed to melt away and handmaidens were trained to remain cool in any situation.

Sabe's blood ran cold and the color drained from her face. The 501st were infamous. No one spoke that number without fear racing through them. "Kiana, where is the Queen?"

"In the throne room with the 501st." Kiana's voice was a bare whisper. "I saw them as I passed by on errand. She signaled to me to find you and get you to the east docks."

Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she grabbed what she could and grabbed the young girl's wrist, dragging her down the hall and toward the East dock. Time was of the essence now. She turned a corner and they nearly ran head first into some of the horrible clone troopers that were Vader's elite force. Luckily, Sabe was first and was able to pull back from sight.

"This way," she muttered under her breathe to the handmaiden and started in another direction. "Pray for the Queen and our friends as we run. They'll need it." Silently she added, 'we'll need it.'

**Desert Sands, Tatooine**

"Master Kenobi," Sabe greeted at the entrance of the exiled Jedi's Tatooine home.

"Executive Councilor?" The exiled man looked concerned at her sudden appearance. She would expect no less.

"We need a place to rest, just for the moment. I didn't know where else to go and you always said that I could come here if I needed help." Sabe told her, struggling to keep the tears from her voice. Behind her, Kiana stood silent.

"It's small, but come in." He ushered the two young women into his small home. Obi-wan showed them to his small sitting room, politely offering them refreshments.

"We shouldn't have come. It is dangerous to be here, but I ran to the only place I knew to run to." Sabe told him quietly, taking the drink with thankful hands. "He's done it. He's crossed the final line."

Obi-wan was silent, no name ever need to be mentioned. Both knew who the 'he' was they were speaking about.

"Queen Apailana has been assassinated, by his beloved 501st. The whole of the Nubian government is gone, anyone who would be loyal to the old Republic." She stared into her cup. "And it is my fault. I advised the Queen, I should have done better."

"You cannot be responsible for what the Emperor and Vader commit." Obi-wan told her calmly.

"I advised her to house exiled Jedi that is how they can justify this to the others in this new, so-called Empire. I'm sure you don't need the details, Master Kenobi. I'm sure the Jedi hiding there are…" She stopped. "Is there a way to contact any other remaining and warn them not to go to Naboo?"

"I asked you to help them." Obi-wan looked thoughtful, rubbing his short beard. "Possibly there is a way we can get in contact with them." Then he looked at her pointedly. "Don't blame yourself. You were only doing what you deemed right. Anyone of us would have done the same."

"If they've taken Naboo, who else is safe?" Sabe sighed, feeling the weight of everything she ever tried to accomplish falling on her shoulders.

"No one is safe in the Empire," Obi-wan's voice held a slightly dark tone.

"What will we do?" Kiana's voice came from the corner, where she'd placed herself.

"I don't know." Sabe looked at her, then Obi-wan, as if he could guide her.

Obi-wan met her eyes squarely, before they strayed to Kiana's hooded face, and back to her own. "May I speak to you alone, Executive Councilor?"

Caught off guard for a moment, she hesitated. Sabe was rarely afraid to speak in front of any of the handmaidens that the Queen had requested join her. In fact, there were times she merely forgot their presence. She felt guilty about that at times, but it only met that the young girls were doing their job well.

"Of course, Master Kenobi." She stood, nodding her head toward the other girl and followed the Jedi Master out into the Tatooine suns. "What is it?" She asked once they were alone.

"I'd be wary of the handmaiden." He told her quietly.

Sabe cocked her head curiously. "Kiana? Master Kenobi, the handmaidens are picked specifically by the Queen."

"There is a sense of betrayal, something dark in her. Be careful of what you say around her. We are already compromised by her coming here. Luckily, I was planning on moving elsewhere, a more secluded spot, shortly." Obi-wan gave a wry smile.

Sabe felt a little bit of guilt in coming to Obi-wan just then, but it soon left when he smiled, letting her know that everything was alright.

"I can't just give her up to the Empire. What if we are wrong?" Sabe looked out at the endless sand dunes.

"What if we're not? If the Emperor learns where the children are, learns where I am or Master Yoda…" He trailed off, looking about cautiously.

Sabe nodded silently. She knew he was right. Nothing was worth the risk of having the Empire find out everything they had worked so hard to keep safe. There were some things that just could not be risked.

"I'll take her back to Naboo. If she is allied with the Empire, she will be safe. If not, we won't be allowed to even enter the capital, if they are smart. It is what I would do." Sabe remarked slowly. Then she pulled a small disc out of her pocket and handed it to Obi-wan. "Can you see that this is delivered to the Alliance?"

Obi nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Thank you, Master Kenobi." Sabe knew those words would not enough, but they were all that she had.

"Be careful, Sabe." He told her solemnly. "May the Force be with you."

Sabe smiled warmly. "And doubly with you, Master Kenobi. I think we'll need it in the trying times ahead."


	4. Chapter Four

**Part Two  
Chapter Four**

**Naboo Space**

Sabe sat ridged in her seat as the ship entered into space around Naboo. This was the moment of truth, whether her new companion beside her was a traitor or loyalist. She hated to doubt the handmaiden, but in these times, anything was possible.

"We are returning, Executive Councilor?" Kiana spoke from her seat behind her.

"Yes, we are." Sabe confirmed with a quick glance behind her.

"Will they not kill us?" Kiana's voice quivered.

She looked at the young girl. Sabe began to question whether she was taking the right action, but Obi-wan had never led her astray before, so she had no reason not to trust his judgment. Sabe was prepared for her fate "Our fate will be no different than our people."

She directed the sleek fighter into the east docking bay, where they had left the palace. In moments, they both would know if Obi-wan was correct in his feelings. In moments, she would be dead or captured in the hands of the Empire. It was the part of the plan she left unspoken in Tatooine.

Sabe was fearful, that was the honest fact, but she knew it must be done. There was no place in which she could run to and not endanger the greater cause of the baby rebellion growing in the hearts of the loyalist. Her only choice had been to return. Without her Queen, Sabe was a useless figure head in Naboo. The trip from Tatooine had made her realize the truth.

As the ship touched down, she stood and went to retrieve several Nubian blasters. She knew the outcome to be bleak, but it did not mean she would not fight and take several Troopers with her.

As she lowered the boarding ramp, she stopped Kiana, grabbing her arm. "Wait," she ordered quietly. "Go. There is no record to know if they missed a handmaiden or not."

"But," she looked confused, "you will be killed."

Sabe's face paled at the thought. "Yes, but listen carefully to me. I will send some memoirs to this ship. Give me twenty standard minutes to send them, and then leave." She stopped and looked the girl in the eyes. "Are you loyal to the Republic?"

"But, it is dead." Kiana replied, a confused frown on her face.

"Are you loyal?" Sabe repeated firmly and waited until the handmaiden nodded in reply. "Take the memoirs to Mon Mothma. She can keep them safe for me. Go no place else until you have taken the information there, understand?"

"Of course, Executive Councilor." Kiana nodded, fear in her eyes.

"Tell me again: you are loyal to everything the Queen held dear? Are you loyal to me?" Sabe had to hear the words once more.

"To the Queen; to you, Executive Councilor." Kiana repeated obediently.

Sabe smiled sadly at Kiana and held back tears. She had once been so much like this poor girl. Even if Obi-wan was right about Kiana, the memoirs would be meaningless to anyone but Mon Mothma, Bail Organa or Obi-wan Kenobi. The Empire would not want them and it would not harm the rebellion if they had them.

"My name is Sabe. Be careful. Remember: twenty standard minutes, then leave." Sabe stepped away from the girl and away from sure security.

"I'll remember… Sabe." Kiana replied quietly.

Sabe turned her back to the girl, the ship, and her escape. She could not look back for there was no way back. The only path was forward and she could not think otherwise. For twenty minutes, she had to remain focused.

Sabe knew all the back routes through the palace at Theed. She knew them from a young age and no amount of years could ever change that fact.

She slipped into the Throne room behind a heavy, red velvet curtain. There were several guards, four at the most. She could aim for two very quickly, but the others would have time to call for help. She would have to seal the doors.

She aimed and fired the blaster with all the precision she had been thought. The noise made her wince openly. When the remaining two turned around and her hiding spot revealed, her chest froze in fear. They could kill her so quickly.

One trooper raised a com to call for help. "Sir, we have an intrud-"

Sabe fired, cutting him off, but she knew that she was too late. The call had been made and her fate sealed.

The remaining Trooper turned and fired several shots at her, one of which grazed her left arm horribly, making her curse aloud. Blinded by pain for a moment, her shots went wild before finally finding the target.

Realizing the danger she was in with the room open, she ran to the throne and opened the secret panel and shut the blaster doors to the room. For the moment, she was alone in the Throne Room at Theed.

Memories of the past flooded her eyes. There was the Trade Federation blockade, where she sat by the Queen Amidala. There was the time when Amidala came home for her safety. There was the time she was here for the coronation of the new Queen Apailana. Then, at last, there was Padme's funeral. Now, she was sitting the Throne Room again.

Sabe forced her mind back to the present. She leaned on the arm rest and punched a few, encrypted codes into the data pad. At the confirmation of her codes, she took a deep breathe. Just a few more minutes and the information would be safety away.

The blast doors around the room shuddered, making her pause. The Troopers would be on her in just moments. Sabe watched for a moment, before looking back at her work. Her fingers flew, reconfiguring the files to be sent to the ship that Kiana would take out of Naboo. In the oddest of ways, she found the steady blasts on the doors comforting. She knew where her enemies would come.

"Just a few more seconds…" Sabe punched the last of the codes in and sat back, just as the blast doors went silent.

Fearfully, she looked up and around her. She may not posses anything of the Force, but she could feel the evil coming toward her. Sabe wondered if this was how all the victims felt at that precise moment: the incalculable fear of the inevitable.

Gathering her courage around her, she stood and straightened her robes. She forced her face to be cold and calm. She came here knowing this would happen.

With the horrible sound of metal scrapping, the forward door opened. Sabe raised her chin defiantly.

"Executive Councilor, you came back," that horrible mechanized voice and breathing echoed off the walls of the room. "How foolish."

"Perhaps. My fate will be no different than my Queen's." Sabe summoned her courage to face the monster that carried out the Emperor's will. Slowly, she took a few steps toward him.

"That little girl was no Queen."

"I'm not talking about Apailana. I'm talking about Padme." Sabe's voice was like venom of ice.

"You dare mention her name?" His voice could not have emotion, but if it could, it would have been pain and anger.

"I mention her name to her murderer." Sabe stood firmly in her spot, even as the imposing being walked toward her. "I mention her name to the man who should have loved her. I mention her name so that he will always remember what he had done. So that he will remember that he will never be a quarter of the man he once was, if there was even-" She was lifted from the floor, caught in his deadly Force grip.

"I am more powerful than you can imagine, Executive Councilor." After a few moments, he let her fall to the ground and waited until she stood to her feet.

"You are a more cowardly man than I can imagine." Sabe whispered, still trying to catch her breath.

"I am going to kill you," he told her as he walked up to her.

"Then why hesitate, Darth Vader." Sabe forced her chin upward.

She looked up into the black, helmet face as he raised his light saber. Terror finding her heart once more, she closed her eyes. She didn't want her last thought to be the image of Darth Vader. She wanted her last thought to be of someone else. She wanted it to be Obi-wan and his undying faith in the Republic.

**Desert Sands, Tatooine**

On Tatooine, Obi-wan stood outside his new desert home, watching as the twin suns fell to meet a new night. There was a sadness to his face, as he watching, knowing that once again, another star would not rise. The young rebellion had lost yet another of its elite number and a few good friend.

Pulling his dark brown cloak around him, he turned and headed back into his small home. He would mediate this night and speak to Qui-gonn. There was always a comfort in his old master's presence.

**Author's Note:**

I decided to go back and add a few revisions to this piece. The biggest change was the addition of a second chapter. I never liked how the first and now third chapters were so distanced apart from one another, so I added the second to tie into the first. It also allowed me to add a bit more explanation and backstory, even if vaguely. I also divided it into two parts, since the story clearly has two different parts.

While I'm still not completely happy with this story and will continue to revise it until I am, I am at least content for the moment.


End file.
